The wave of adults reigniting their love of reading crashed its way to the forefront of my social media feeds over the last few years. (Thank you Bookstagram and BookTok!) We are rediscovering books and the joys of reading we found as a kid. And most importantly to me, fantasy is being celebrated again!
We don’t know what we don’t know, and one of the few things I know with certainty is that we’ll never really know everything. There’s no clear instructions on how to be a “good” human, that’s why we study “the humanities,” and hope to learn from literature and art. I think the strongest foundation of being a “good” human is built on doing everything we can to empathize with others and learn about and respect our differences. Maybe that starts with, and gets reinforced by, what we can learn in far off lands and mythical realities.
As much as I LOVED school, (and I was taught to because I’m a people pleaser who was raised by an elementary school teacher,) I can still see how school can steal away our inclination to read as we grow up. In most cases, English courses that include reading and examining books, that foster the all-too-important critical thinking skills we need, typically focus on literary fiction. Don’t get me wrong, literary fiction, historical fiction, nonfiction, etc., are all important genres to read that can be thoroughly impactful and enjoyable. However, they usually include heavier topics that closely and more easily connect your mind to the troubles of the real world. When I read, or want to engulf myself in any form of entertainment, it’s usually because I’d like to escape into something new.
My true love for reading was found in books that were undeniably categorized as fantasy. I devoured as many of The Magic Treehouse books as my school library had in stock, and of course I became a huge Harry Potter nerd. But in school, aside from taking an Accelerated Reading test to prove you read a book, no one really celebrated reading fantasy books. I remember being shocked by my English teacher in 7th grade when she had the class read the first book in the Maximum Ride series. Half of the class was excited by it and didn’t hide it, the other half were too cool to admit they were into a fantasy book or reading in general. I wish there were more teachers like her because it kept an ember burning for my desire to find new fantasy stories, to keep reading for pure enjoyment.
But how are you supposed to keep finding those fantasy stories when most of the world is telling you that’s not the genre you should reach for? Well if you’re like me and feel like you need justifications for why it’s important to read fantasy, even as an adult, I think we have a pretty decent case for it.
Fantasy creates a space that allows us to distance from ourselves so that we can learn about and digest elements of real life, just like we used to be taught through folklore and fairytales.
Sometimes it’s too much to sit down and read directly about some of the world’s most heart-breaking realities. For example, reading nonfiction about poverty, or experiencing pieces of poverty through literary fiction like A Tree Grows in Brooklyn who’s characters are battling complex, heart-wrenching family scenarios. They’re still wonderful stories to read, and so impactful, but sometimes the clear striking connection they have with reality is too much to swallow. They might even pull you toward depression. But experiencing those characters’ turmoil is a pathway for empathy and creating understanding on multiple levels, which most of us are reminded is why literary fiction is well regarded.
Fantasy and Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) are fiction, but they offer us something extra. These fantastical stories and settings help combat those negative, weighty, overwhelming feelings, and allow readers to internalize concepts because they’re presented in a distant world.
For the sake of using a pop culture reference I know well, let’s use Harry Potter. Even if you haven’t read the books, you know the Weasley family struggles to make ends meet. They have such a big family, so of course money is tight. Ron is most often the sibling that complains about his many hand-me-downs and not getting the chance to have something new. However, as an only child who didn’t get to know his parents, Harry clearly admires the Weasley family and how rich they are in having each other. Harry has access to all the money he needs from his inheritance, so it’s not something he sees as desirable, but it stands to reason that he’d love to have the traditions, connections, and home-like feeling Ron and his family have. Ron has always known a life with a big family, but thanks to rich families like the Dracos teasing him about the worn down hand-me-downs that come with being the youngest brother, he focuses on the negative aspects and financial hardships that come with being in a large family. As we’re enamored by the fantastical “wizarding world” and learning how it all works, in the background we’re still able to empathize with a family going through financial hardship and how it might feel for the children. We catch glimpses of how hard the Weasley parents are working to make ends meet and make sure all their children feel special. However, since that’s not one of the major conflicts of the story and we’re experiencing it passively, it’s easier to digest subconsciously.
I also think fantasy and sci-fi stories are incredible conduits for learning about cultures and religions. Of course I wouldn’t say you have a full understanding of any real world culture or religion simply by reading about it within these stories, but I believe they open us up to them and create a space that fosters an understanding we might otherwise be resistant to. They open a pathway to respect.
Let’s start with Harry Potter again. I’m going to give you a somewhat controversial opinion: The Harry Potter series can help people conceptualize Christianity. Hear me out through my spoilers-filled example.
Harry is referenced as the chosen one, and despite Voldemort’s best efforts, he can’t kill Harry. Harry only dies when he chooses to die, and he chooses to die in order to protect and save everyone he loves. When Harry makes that choice to die for everyone else, he places the same protection on his loved ones as his mother placed on him when she died protecting him–the oldest and most powerful form of magic that’s been with him. Harry Potter’s sacrifice opens up a space for understanding the concept that Jesus chose to die on the cross to save everyone who believes in him. If you can get behind the concept of how Harry’s sacrifice saved and protected his allies, is it so far of a jump to consider Christians’ faith in Jesus? To consider, that because God so loved the world, that he gave (sacrificed) his only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life?
Are you still with me? I think the same can be said in teaching me about Jewish culture and religion in books by Alice Hoffman (most famous for her book that became a movie, Practical Magic). Have you ever learned about Golems? Maybe you have by watching some fantasy TV shows like Supernatural, or The Grimm. If you’re interested, check out her book, The World That We Knew.
There are also incredible sci-fi stories that open up our minds to understand other cultures and beliefs, whether they’re formal practices in today’s society or not. Becky Chambers’s latest duology, starting with A Psalm for the Wild Built, beautifully introduces us to a new post-apocalyptic future world and its complex cultures and religions. When you dive into these books you learn about the different beliefs and gods and go through a personal journey with the main character who’s considering what they believe and how they fit. The main character’s openness and respect is incredibly heartwarming! Her sci-fi series, the Wayfinders series, similarly does this in a fantastical futuristic space setting. Through this world she helps us subconsciously empathize with racial differences using wildly made-up species, and explores a culture filled with advanced AI and what it means to be human and sentient.
At the forefront of our minds as we read these stories is the pull of the environments, the worlds unlike any we’ll live in, that magically create a precious distance. In that distance, in that safe metaphorical space, our typical unconscious biases and barriers are less likely to surface and prevent us from fully empathizing and considering new perspectives and situations. Too often we get in our own way, but by allowing yourself to immerse in fantasy you can strip away what’s been holding you back.
I hope you’ll pick up a fantasy or sci-fi story and talk about it with your friends. I hope you’ll consider reading for pleasure again if you haven’t already, and be pleasantly surprised by how it’s helping you grow and open your world. If you’re not sure where to start, don’t be afraid to chat with a librarian to get you started!
Do you have any book recommendations? Would you like any from me? Please let me know in the comments!
Margaret Breaks 